President Donald Trump’s administration has set an alarming objective to deport one million immigrants every year. Within Trump’s first 100 days in office, raids, funding and detention were ramped up to signal that mass deportation was a priority. As the number of immigrant detainees rises, the government has been focusing on establishing detention camps similar to “Alligator Alcatraz” to contain them.
Alligator Alcatraz is an immigrant detention center located in the Everglades region of Florida. This previously abandoned airport was converted into a prison in the middle of a swamp in just six days — isolated in scorching weather, heavily militarized and guarded by nature. Its supporters have made jokes out of the prison’s cruelty by creating merchandise and making light of the danger posed by the surrounding alligators. While visiting the facility, Trump said, “We’re gonna teach them how to run away from an alligator.” Detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz have described the facility to be “inhumane” as they are given only one meal a day, forced to sleep on the floor, live in unhygienic conditions and are held in what can only be described as “dog cages.”
Now, plans are on the way for a new facility, Camp East Montana, that can house up to 5,000 people, making it the largest immigration detention camp in U.S. history. With $1.2 billion allocated for this project, the government is investing in cages, not security.
On July 18, the federal government entered into a contract with Acquisition Logistics LLC to build a massive tent camp named Camp East Montana in the Fort Bliss military base. Acquisition Logistics LLC is a company with minimal public information available online; both its website and address appear to be outdated. Despite having no prior experience running a correctional facility, this small business somehow managed to secure a billion-dollar federal contract for the largest immigration camp in the nation. How this came to be still remains unclear, as CEO Ken Wagner and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have not addressed any questions regarding the lack of transparency.
Camp East Montana, also known as “Lone Star Lockup,” is located in El Paso, Texas. Its proximity to the El Paso International Airport suggests a focus on rapid deportations at the expense of individuals’ due process and well-being. Like Alligator Alcatraz, many concerns have been raised due to the extreme weather conditions this region faces. Lone Star Lockup is in the Chihuahuan desert region, where intense, dry heat temperatures are the norm. Being inside a large tent where heat gets trapped threatens the safety of detainees by risking the spreading of illness, having contaminated food, creating unsanitary conditions, having minimal insulation and possibly compromising medical equipment. The administration’s plan to have 5,000 immigrants in these conditions is simply cruelty packaged as policy.
At the beginning of August, Camp Lone Star Lockup began housing 1,000 immigrants. On Aug. 17, the camp sparked protests within the El Paso community, who voiced their disapproval of the cruel and unnecessary mass detentions. Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar emphasized how much more beneficial $1.2 billion would be if it were invested in education and health care in El Paso communities, rather than a military detention camp. The lack of public information about Lone Star Lockup is alarming. The facility has been open for a month, yet there are no published pictures of the inside or confirmation that detainees are receiving a right of access to the courts.
The choice to place a detention camp in a military base that limits oversight on violations of rights is extremely concerning, as it creates a step towards authoritarian practices. Immigration detention camps like Lone Star Lockup are not about safety, but rather about profit and control. No one should be benefiting from the imprisonment of innocent people. The government is prioritizing numbers over human rights with their desperate goal of deporting one million immigrants and the rapid construction of detention centers. $1.2 billion should not buy cages in the desert.
